WHO LIVES HERE? Patti White and John Sander

The other day I had a chance to see what used to be the original PCL sales office when I went to interview Patti and John, and what a transformation. I have to say that the sales office was pretty cool when we were using it but now it's a real show piece. When I first walked in I couldn't even get past the first few steps without asking questions and oohing and aahing. The first item that struck me was the color palette and wall paint of orange, dark green, yellow and beige. The room on the left as you first enter the loft is Patti's office where the shelves are constructed from old high school bleachers balanced on large
metal spools salvaged from the Sunset Line and Twine Company in Petaluma. Still in the wood are carvings of high school love, teacher taunts and adolescent verbiage. This area can be closed off by an old sliding metal bank door with a canvas image of a photograph from one of their trips, in place of the glass. Stunning! I then made my way to the kitchen and sat down at the counter that was constructed from the floor of a bowling alley. This is where they both hang out with their laptops and coffee, surfing and sipping. Most of the artistic touches in Patti and John's unit are derived from items found at salvage yards giving their home a very warm and craft like feeling. The TI work here has taken quite a few months and is still on going. John asked Patti to be patient for two months but she wanted to move in in 30 days, so they did, with an incomplete kitchen... the microwave, restaurants and bathroom sink worked as a substitute while they installed a kitchen of orange and dark brown, primarily from IKEA. Both John and Patti have backgrounds in marketing and communications and actually met while working on an corporate event in New York. Patti, who grew up in Wisconsin, develops marketing and event strategies primarily for hi tech businesses. Her work eventually brought her to the Haight in the city where she loved the hippie essence. John studied theater production and ended up coming to California to help open a performing arts center in Silicon Valley where he stayed and worked for two years. Eventually John found a niche producing corporate events including web work, video, stage setting and more. You can check out his work at phproductions.com. Impressive!
PH Productions is based in Emeryville and John, a SF renter, did the reverse commute driving the backroads through parts of West Oakland thinking....pioneering neighborhood with lots of opportunities! Patti and John, now living together on Potrero Hill, were notified that they had to move due to the sale of their rental, so they began to consider purchasing a home. Looking at possibilities in SF they were underwhelmed by the architecture and overwhelmed by the prices and expanded their search to the east bay(a place John thought he would never want to live). The first time they saw the lofts their response was....building 10, location 3, but something clicked and they both remember being upstairs in a loft and looking at each other at the same time with a nod and a spark. So Patti gave it the "test" making a list of 5 things to do in the east bay including checking out the parks, restaurants, farmers markets, etc. Long story short they are now living in a beautiful building and in a fabulously interesting neighborhood. They are both world travelers and their walls are adorned with art from places including Cuba, India, Iceland, Argentina and Bali to name a few. You can see more images on their blog at www.loft152.blogspot.com. Take a look...eye candy!

WHO LIVES HERE?....Alena Schabes and Michael Forcier

If relationships were a board game, Alena and Michael have mastered chutes and ladders and are now passing "GO", and all in their early thirties. As someone with experience (Rick and I have been together since LBJ was president...don't laugh!) these two are in for the long hall. They both agree that they keep each other balanced as they are still learning new things about each other including their differences. Alena is the driven one keeping Michael on his forward path and Michael is the calm one helping Alena put things into perspective as her ambition ramps her up. Planning a wedding in May their relationship began as students at the University of Wisconsin where they both studied psychology. They moved to the bay area when Alena got into graduate school at the California School of Professional Psychology in Alameda where she eventually earned her doctorate in clinical psych specializing in family therapy. They settled in Emeryville with their two shelter dogs, Poe and Twain, two terrier mixes that look like something straight out of a Dr. Seuss book...check out the picture. Michael, who also has a background in sociology, began working in a variety of positions with special needs kids including those with autism and behavioral problems, but eventually went back to school in real estate and has almost completed the program. But Michael's real passion is writing and he is working on a number of reality based fiction novels and dreams of locking himself is a cabin away from the TV, internet and the world where he can just concentrate on his manuscripts the way Michael Creighton does. Alena, upon completing her schooling, and waiting 7 long months due to changes in licensing, first worked a couple of part time jobs working with adults, couples and families and then she landed a great full time job with Kaiser in Antioch. So now they are getting married, done with school, gainfully employed and the next step is buying a home. At first they looked at over 30 detached houses but the extra ("baby") room started to freak Michael out and they turned their search to condos. Don't get me wrong...they are definitely talking kids but not right now. "Lets just be thirty!" is how they put it. Michael found PCL on craigslist and went over to talk to Gail. His adoration of lofts from the movies kicked in and he went home to talk to the "boss". Alena, being a New Yorker, got it right away and they decided to buy the last grove loft. They love the industrial feel, concrete beam and outside space for the dogs. Alena is quite the decorator and the home is full of her touches from remotely controlled blackout window coverings that she can operate while in bed to twigs gracing and individualizing the railing around her patio. When I asked about their initial feelings about the neighborhood the general response was that it was no bigge. From Alena's earlier work in Oakland with kids she was very familiar with the area and its culutre and didn't have to think twice about moving into the community. They both love the fact that families are moving in next door at Ironhorse and that they see kids in the neighborhood but are glad to have their quiet sanctuary on the grove where they have gotten to know their adult neighbors. They are both taking advantage of the great restaurants in the area including Le Cheval, Brown Sugar Kitchen, Miyozen and Kao Sarn Thai to name afew. Both Alena and Michael are looking forward to meeting more PCL residents and have attended most PCL events. The decorator in Alena wants to see more open homes! So great talking to you both....two sparkplugs for sure!

Who Lives Here? ........Nick Garcia

The Alameda School District had a half day yesterday so I was able to sit and chat with Nick Garcia, one of their speech pathologists and PCL resident since September. At his job Nick assesses and works with kids with a variety of issues effecting their speech including physical, cognitive and motor issues in addition to autism and deafness. He has always wanted to work with kids starting a major in child psychology at Cal State Northridge. This was interrupted abruptly when he was a bit "shook up" living two blocks from the epicenter of the Northridge Earthquake when it hit. Moving to the bay area he completed his schooling by starting over again at Sacramento state in speech pathology which was well worth the extra time in school. Throughout our conversation it was clear that Nick's experiences with these special kids gives him a very compassionate and open perspective on others and life in general. Settling in the east bay where his once long term partner lived, he at one point contemplated buying a house in Martinez. But his social life often took him to SF and his dating life took him to the Lake Merritt area where he began to discover Oakland. A friend of his had recently moved into Zephyr Gate and told him about the Central Station development. Now in a courtyard loft, Nick at one point considered a unit with an open loft, but opted for the more private separate upstairs space. The access to the outside was also a plus. His closing was not fun but both he and HD are glad he stuck it out! Nicks reaction to the neighborhood was similar to that of others.....cautious and warming as he got to know the area, learned more about the neighbors and spent time in West Oakland. Pleased with the insta-access to the freeway he loves the city but also goes to the Lake Merritt area everyday for a workout at Gold's gym(evident by his fit physique) and to load up on groceries at Trader Joes. Nick loves to cook. His home is immaculate and organized with a carefully thought out color scheme of grey blues and muted greens accented with eggplant curtains on black rods. Quite stunning. The living room is dominated by a chocolate brown leather sofa against the soft blue wall. Very nice. Everything is so neat at Nicks...except for the haphazardly painted beam up in the bedroom. I just cracked up when Nick said he got tired of painting. Most people would paint a beam from one end to the other but this beam (check out the picture) looked like it had been painted by a couple of Nick's kids. I loved it! Nick assures me he will finish the job but I say leave it as is! So much personality! Nick also owns a black and burgundy 1988 Citroen 2CV6 car, a beloved treasure from his time spent in France. Although he drove it for a couple of years it is now in pieces as he and his partner are rebuilding it. Hopefully we will eventually see it in the PCL garage....just another unique piece at the Cannery! Nick...thanks for sharing your story and welcome to the PCL community.

Who Lives Here? Lydia Hemphill

Lydia Hemphill is a local girl growing up in Kensington where she attended El Cerrito High School and then on to UC Berkeley where she majored in integrative biology. You now can find her in her lab coat hovering over pipettes full of molecules that she has produced for in vivo, in vitro and toxicity studies. Her work at Genentech as a research assistant takes her to South San Francisco daily so she is very pleased with the convenient freeway access at PCL. Her true biological love is anatomy, physiology and evolutionary biology and her dream job would be to work at the Academy of Sciences in the city. Before putting on her lab coat in the morning, Lydia jumps into the pool and swims for 45 minutes covering more than a mile in the water. We talked about the peacefulness of swimming, the thinking time that it provides and the soothing sounds of ones own breathing and heart beat. What a great way to start the day. Spending a year abroad in Madrid Spain during college is only a fraction of her world travel. She has been to India, Nepal, China to see her grandmothers village, and Thailand. Before moving to the Cannery, Lydia's home was a rental in Emeryville. When she started looking for a home to purchase she looked at everything in her price range including foreclosures but was uninspired. It was her boyfriend who spotted PCL from the freeway and encouraged her to take a look. She loved the building right away and began working her way through the different units. Of course the neighborhood was an initial concern but now she is very comfortable in her signature loft that faces the port. She didn't really think about her door to the outside being an assset at the time of purchase but now that she is thinking about getting a dog she is glad to have the direct access to the outside. She assures me that her dog will be a big dog like a lab or malamute. Because of her busy work schedule she hasn't met a lot of the new residents but says that the ones she is beginning to meet are very nice. Lydia attended last months block party and met some new folks there but says the best way to meet someone is through their dogs. Upon entering Lydia's signature loft, I was struck by the beautiful saturated colors on the walls. (check out the photograph) For a house warming gift Lydia's parents gave her a session with a colorist who chose rose, burnt orange and even some green for the walls. For fun and relaxation, Lydia plays the trumpet in a 60 person symphonic band (that includes her dad on trombone) called West County Wind sponsored by Contra Costa College. You can catch the performances at the performance hall on campus. Monday night practices are a weekly highlight for Lydia. So if you hear a sweet trumpet sound wafting from the port side of PCL you can bet that it is coming from the Hemphill House. Welcome to PCL Lydia and let us know when you get your dog!

WHO LIVES HERE.......LeAnn Flesher

She loves the design and the find! As I walked through the door of LeAnn Flesher's upstairs corner grove unit I was hit with light from all sides and stopped in my tracks by the great sense of original design and feeling of "I'm home". First was the unusual kitchen island.....a piece of furniture that was perfect but that I had never seen before. It was an oak craftsman style table/island/counter/cabinet all in one that LeAnn uses for eating, storage, as an island and for computer work. Really cool! As a dining table it comfortably seats 12! The main focus in her loft is the two story pillar that is smack dab in the in middle and visible from basically any room. LeAnn entertained me by sharing her visitors comments and suggestion for use of the pillar ranging from painting it, to stringing it with lights, to putting hooks in it, to getting rid of it all together. We laughed about that last suggestion as we both visualized the ceiling crashing in and taking everything in its path down to Zack an Tyler's unit below! LeAnn uses her space so creatively with placement of her living area and bedroom downstairs and a home office and TV/den/second bedroom upstairs. I think many people would have switched the placements but this really works beautifully!

LeAnn, who works in Berkeley as the Academic Dean of the Baptist Seminary of the West, moved from Alameda to an apartment in Emeryville a couple of years ago. From this base she took her time looking throughout the area for a home to purchase including the Richmond Marina. In escrow two times before closing on her PCL loft, she finally moved in on May 18th and immediately went off to Africa for work (more on that later). Her unit actually closed while she was traveling and she told me that she felt like she was home the minute she walked back in the door even though she was still in boxes. LeAnn looked at a number of units at PCL during her hunt but this one stuck with her! When she first saw it she figured the numbers wouldn't work and actually asked her realtor to get her out of there! Both he and Gail picked up on the fact that her face actually changed when she entered that space and eventually she did come back, was very pleased with the numbers and moved in!

Prior to becoming Dean, LeAnn was a professor of theology, specializing in Old Testament Studies at the Graduate Theology Union in Berkeley, an ecumenical and interfaith school. Her education is extensive including undergraduate work in business administration at the University of Minnesota, her home state, a masters degree in divinity from Bethel Theology Seminary and a PhD. from Drew University in Madison, NJ. Her work took her to Africa where she is involved in starting a Protestant seminary in partnership with a mission in Uganda. She was also in Rwanda and war torn Congo working with women who were struggling with the trauma of being war victims. Have a cup of tea with LeAnn if you can and listen to the stories! After that I felt silly asking her if she was wary of West Oakland but home is different. LeAnn calmly replied that she had been in much worse situations in NY and was very excited after talking with Rick about his vision for the area. She loves being apart of it all and living what she teaches. I asked LeAnn where her neighborhood haunts were and found that she really goes all over the place. She loves the local restaurants and has taken up sailing in the Berkeley Marina. LeAnn....thanks so much for sharing your home and in your spare time could you please design our next model?
P.S. this blog is in red because we both love designing in reds!

Who Lives Here? Stephanie Schnapp and Kendra Bickley

Before I even got to the door of Stephanie and Kendra's new loft I was greeted by their "puggle" Blue who came running down the hall. Blue is a cross between a pug and a beagle, absolutely adorable and is only a few months old. When I did enter Stephanie and Kendra's home I was struck by the vivid colors on the walls. Two shades of a very saturated orange on a wall in the living room accented by Kendra's grandmothers kitchen table of yellow "formica"...so familiar to me having grown up in the 50's! Straight out of Mad Men! Stephanie and I (Kendra was at work unfortunately) sat at this table chatting while Blue took over the green armchair for his after noon nap. These two ladies have been together for the past eight years having met in San Francisco while Kendra, originally from Stockton, was studying Photography at San Francisco State University and working as a barista at Peets Coffee on Market Street. Stephanie grew up and attended college in Southern Illinois and moved out here on a whim after finishing her degree in bio science. Her science background led her to UCSF where she had a number of positions before landing her present job of 4 years as a clinical lab scientist. Her work in the immunohemotology lab includes educating others with her background, on how to become a clinical lab scientists like herself. Kendra now also works at UCSF as a unit coordinator in the ortho/spine pod for the OR. These two ladies were some of the first residents at PCL moving in April from San Francisco where they had the "landlady from hell". They found us on the PCL website. About this time Lola, the cat, wandered down the stairs and led us outside to the balcony where the sun was shining on a lime and tomato plant. I was then invited upstairs to see K+S personal gym set up in the area at the top of the stairs of their courtyard loft. Stephanie used to be a personal trainer and still lifts weights at home when she has the time. Wrapping up, Stephanie got serious and looked me in the eye telling me that one of the main reasons she and Kendra decided to move to PCL was because of Holliday Development's reputation and the fact that Rick and I run the company together with such warmth. Thanks you so much for that Steph and welcome to the community.